Unfairity
by mooncoffee
Summary: It's a story about the bad guys. Set after X2. Mystique and Magneto return home, with a new mutant in tow - Pyro.
1. Homecoming

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Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men.

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A/N: First off, this isn't a fic about the good guys. It's about the bad guys. And the line between good and bad. And maybe it's a little bit about growing up, finding out who you are and who you can become – Pyro's coming of age. Why the character of Pyro, you may be wondering? Well, I really enjoyed X2, in particular the students and their part in the saga. I found Pyro's character very conflicted, so I thought maybe he deserved a story. Here it is.

Chapter 1 - Homecoming __

In which Magneto and Mystique return home... 

Shade leaned against the steps, feeling the sun-warmed stone against her back. It wasn't fair. It really, entirely wasn't fair. 

She was tempted to take her boots off, wriggle her toes in the pleasant evening air, but every moment that Mystique was gone represented a moment in which the humans could attack. It was vital that she stay alert. After all, if Mystique succeeded and brought Magneto back home again, it wouldn't do for him to catch his own followers off guard. Plus, Shade knew Mystique thought she was too young to be of any real use. Magneto was the one who'd seen her potential, taken her in, but even he hadn't let her in on any of the big stuff.

  
That was the unfairness of it all. She could've _helped_. 

"Shade?" said Mrs Althrop. Mrs Althrop was the housekeeper. After the unpleasant business with those X-Men, when Magneto had been captured and taken away, Mystique had moved operations to a safe house, deep in the country. It was big, and old, and grand. Shade liked it. Plenty of trees, plenty of shadows. And Mrs Althrop. She was a mutant, almost as old as Magneto, and in Shade's opinion, far scarier. 

"I'm here," Shade replied, turning. Mrs Althrop's face cracked into a smile. It was an unnaturally large smile, and revealed rows of gleaming teeth. Shade tried to smile back. It was important to stay on Mrs Althrop's good side.

"There you are, dearie. I've just got word back from Miss Mystique. They're coming home!" she said delightedly, clapping her hands together. "Mr Magneto is safe and well."  
  
"Excellent," Shade said under her breath, feeling better. Finally, Magneto was back. Finally, she could show him how she'd improved. Finally, she'd get the recognition that she deserved around this place.

"And they've found someone else to join us here in our happy, _happy_ home," continued Ms Althrop, really getting into her stride, her teeth gnashing alarmingly.

Someone else? Shade sat up straight.

  
"Who?" she asked dumbly.

"A mutant who can control fire, Miss Mystique said. Apparently Mr Magneto was most impressed with the young man, most impressed. A very valuable asset, he said."  
  
Control _fire_? Shade felt her heart sink. She'd seen it on the news, about the fire in Boston, the mutant flame-thrower who'd destroyed squad cars and caused mayhem. She'd seen it all, and she'd been blown away. She'd die for one tenth of that power – and now he was coming here? He was a bad guy? The others had said he was one of Professor X's kids - more importantly, he was coming _here_? No. No. This couldn't be happening. 

She'd really worked to impress Magneto, and now this new kid was going to show up and ruin everything. She couldn't let it happen – she wouldn't let it happen. Shade was the number one prodigy around this place, not some pyromaniac X-Man prototype. 

"Shade?" Mrs Althrop asked again, her tone a little sharper. Shade stood up, and Mrs Althrop blinked, then frowned. "It's very rude to do that when someone is speaking to you, young lady. I thought you'd learnt that by now."  
  
"Yes, Mrs Althrop," Shade said meekly, her mind racing. She had to get rid of this threat. That's what he was, a threat to her existence. He had to be removed. So he had all the brawn at his disposal, so what? She had the brains. And she'd already spotted a potential weak link – the connection to Xavier. This wouldn't be so hard.

"Are you coming in for your dinner, ducky?"  
  
"Yes, Mrs Althrop," Shade replied, allowing herself to be shepherded into the house. 

****

Outside, high above the tree-tops, on the very edge of the horizon, a helicopter at the very end of its fuel capacity struggled through the balmy air. It gave a sudden lurch, and Pyro's stomach jumped.

Not that he was scared. Not at all. He flicked his lighter on and off, on and off, until he was aware of Magneto staring at him. He pocketed the lighter, feeling its slight warmth and reassuring heaviness against his leg. That was all he had left, that and the clothes he was wearing. Not that he missed anything else. 

Not at all.

Unprovoked, an image of himself and the Iceman came to mind. They were sitting on the couch, just watching TV, drinking soda. That was it. Nothing particularly poignant, or symbolic – just that. Then another image, of himself and Rogue teasing Bobby about his lack of taste in – well, everything, but music especially. And for some reason, one of the Wolverine and Professor X, talking to each other in low voices.   
  
All of these things made him feel a little sick, and he told himself it was just the helicopter.

"I hate to be the voice of doom, but was it always part of the plan to land on top of a forest, or is that something you've just improvised?" he asked loudly, trying to break the tense atmosphere.

Mystique made an annoyed sound, and Magneto raised an eyebrow.

"I have faith in Mystique," was his only comment, and Pyro inhaled deeply. Fine. Have faith in Mystique. 

He looked out of the window, and saw something that was definitely more interesting than a load of trees. It was house, a pretty enormous house, and he realised with growing excitement that this was their destination. This was his new home. 

Whether he'd actually get to step foot in his new home was, at the moment, debatable. The helicopter gave another crazy lurch, and Pyro tried to concentrate on what he could see of the house. There were some large, low metallic bunkers behind it, three in total, which reminded him of farm buildings. At the front of the house – what he assumed was the front – an empty field seemed to be getting closer, and Pyro decided that now would be a good time to assume the crash position. He braced himself, and Mystique gave another low growl.

  
"There may be some turbulence," she added in a dead-pan voice, and it was suddenly very, very quiet. Pyro had just enough time to work out that the propeller had stopped moving before the helicopter plummeted towards the ground, very, very quickly.

****

"HEY!" 

Those assembled around the dining table looked up in alarm. Shade continued eating. She'd recognised Militant's voice, and he was far too excitable to pay any attention to.

"HEY!" he yelled again, appearing at the door to the dining room, pale face flushed. "It's Magneto and Mystique! They're here! In a helicopter!"  
  
Sure enough, the loud thrum of a helicopter engine could be heard, starting off faint, but growing louder with every passing second. The others jumped up in a flurry of clothes and food and tails, crowding out of the door, on to the front field, all eager to show Magneto how much they'd wanted him back.

  
Shade waited until they'd all left the dining room, finished drinking her glass of Coca Cola, and then allowed herself to un-focus. It was so much easier to observe events when no-one was able to observe you. Moving with the shadows, Shade was at the front of the small crowd in moments. She focused in again, and looked up.

The helicopter wasn't flying anymore. The propellers were dead.

"THEY'RE GOING TO CRASH!" Militant screamed, and the expectant atmosphere changed to one of fear. There was a sudden scramble to get out of the way, and Mrs Althrop could be seen towering above everyone else, trying to control the throng. Shade simply un-focused again and allowed herself to drift backwards slightly, all the while keeping her eyes trained on the helicopter. 

There was that falling sound, the one familiar from action films and cartoon shows, the one where it gets higher and louder and higher until the missile or piano or whatever slams into the ground. It was getting louder and higher and the helicopter was getting bigger until it was so loud that Shade couldn't hear anything else then silence.

Not quite silence. A low humming, and the helicopter hovering a few inches above the ground. Shade smiled inwardly. Of course. It was made of metal. Magneto would never be harmed by metal, it loved him. 

Now the crowd were silenced, even Militant. All moved forward slightly, craning their necks, trying to get a glimpse of the passengers inside. Probably scared that now the boss was back, they'd get into all sorts of trouble. Shade toyed with the idea of getting closer, then decided it would be better to hang back. Assess the situation from a distance.

Then the door popped open, and Mystique climbed out, followed by a boy. He hung back himself, behind Mystique, and Shade couldn't get a good look at her rival. Mystique smiled suddenly, a rare event in itself, and Magneto's voice boomed out across the field.

  
"The rumours are indeed true, old friends," came the voice. Shade felt buoyant, despite herself. Magneto! He'd held her in awe since the first day she'd met him. Such power, such vision, such style – well, sort of. She had to admit, the helmet wasn't the best look ever. But when Magneto had gone, it was like the sun had been blotted out. They'd all worked feverishly on plans to get him back – none had worked. None until now of course. The thrill of the assorted mutants was tangible as Magneto stepped from the helicopter.

  
"I'm home," he finished, mouth curving into a smile. 

A roar of approval went up from below, and Shade re-focused so that she could show her own appreciation. His eyes flickered over all of them in turn, and when he looked over her, Shade clapped even harder. Things would be better, now. She knew it. Her own eyes flickered to that elusive boy, and her smile hardened slightly. It was her turn to shine, now. She'd make sure of it. 

****

Pyro hadn't seen anything like it. All of these mutants looked like they pretty much worshipped old Magneto – and what a bunch of worshippers they were. Most were completely inhuman looking – no wonder they hated the humans so much. They'd never be able to get by in society. They all looked harder than the mutants back home – back at Xavier's. Edgy – reminded him more of Wolverine than anyone else.

There was an enormous old woman, her grin far too wide and full of needle sharp teeth. A guy with six arms, ebony black and whippet thin, he resembled some sort of nightmarish spider-man. Three identical women, dressed in the latest fashions but with faces so deformed and twisted it was hard to tell where their mouths ended and their noses began. And then, right at the edge of the crowd, he thought he saw something move in the shadows. As he watched, something – or someone – seemed to form out of the shadows. It was like watching a photograph develop. A slender girl came into focus, shadow writhing over her body and face, like she was bleeding ink in reverse, until it was absorbed into her eyes. Her eyes were completely black, and fairly unsettling. 

Pyro blinked. It was a nice trick.

Then another couple of mutants caught his eye. They seemed about his age, a girl and a boy. Both were looking back at him with interest. He was used to being one of the oldest, but here he was one of the youngest. The shadow girl and these two others were the only other people of his age about. Everyone else was older.   
  
Mystique stepped aside suddenly, and he felt attention shift from Magneto on to him.

"This is Pyro," Magneto announced, gesturing in his direction. "I trust most of you heard about the fiery little incident in Boston?"  
  
There was a murmur of consensus.

  
"Pyro's work," said Magneto, and this time the murmur was slightly louder. Then a pale, lanky mutant waved at Magneto. "Yes, Militant?" asked Magneto, his tone somewhat resigned.

"HEARD HE WAS WITH THE X-MEN," shouted the gangling mutant, Militant. Pyro stiffened. Great. This was the bit where he got mobbed. His hand moved automatically to his pocket, and closed around his lighter. 

"_Was _with the X-Men is correct, Militant," said Magneto mildly. "He has made a choice, and we shouldn't hold that against him. You haven't forgotten my own history with Charles Xavier, have you?"  
  
Militant shook his head, somewhat abashed. 

"Well then, that's settled. Jet, Nox – give him the guided tour. As for the rest of you, I believe there is much we need to discuss."  
  
Pyro relaxed his grip on the lighter as the other mutants followed Magneto into the house, Mystique included. He didn't know anyone, he was alone – it reminded him of his first day at Xavier's. The girl and boy – Jet and Nox, he presumed – made their way over, and he looked at them properly. The girl was pretty, with long blonde hair and brown eyes. She was wearing cut-off shorts and an old T-shirt, the boy in a pair of battered looking jeans, massive overcoat and Converse baseball shoes. His hair was cut really short, and his eyes had a hungry look to them, like he'd been starved or something. Wasn't he hot in that get-up? Pyro was reminded again of Rogue and Iceman – these two didn't look anything like them, but it was the same set up. The girl and boy taking him in, under their wing, making him part of a trio. 

Except there was another one, wasn't there? He looked back to where the shadow girl should have been, but she'd gone. Maybe he'd meet her later. 

"I'm Jet," said the girl quietly. "And this is Nox."  
  
The more Pyro saw of him, the more Nox reminded him of a ferret. The other boy was twitchy, his glittering eyes constantly moving.   
  
"Hey," Nox said abruptly, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"I'm Pyro," he said, feeling more than a little awkward. This was really lame. He felt dirty, and tired and all he really wanted to do was sleep.

  
"We'll show you where to put your things –" Jet started saying.

  
"I haven't got any things, as such," Pyro interrupted. "Just me."  
  
"That's cool, that's cool," said Nox. "That's cool, man. We'll just show you around. You'll be sharing a room with me, Jet and Shade are opposite. We've got four rooms to ourselves, four rooms, man. It's unreal here."  
  
They started walking towards the big house, but instead of entering through the front door, they went round to the side. Pyro followed, stepping into a big kitchen. Nox made a bee-line for the fridge, grabbing packets of crisps and cans of soda. 

"Who's Shade?" he asked Jet. 

The other girl wrinkled her nose, and looked around before replying in a whisper. "She's the only other person here our age. She's not exactly sociable – she likes to hide away, in the shadows. She gives me the creeps –"  
  
"You don't like her, then," Pyro said absent-mindedly, trying not to grin at Nox's efforts to stuff as much food as possible into his numerous pockets.

"It's hard _to_ like her," finished Jet, matter-of-factly. "How can you like someone who barely seems to exist?"

****

Shade noted with some satisfaction that pretty little Jet was giving the old 'creepy Shade, hides away' speech again. It suited her that she had a reputation for being anti-social – it meant she didn't have to talk to anyone she didn't want to talk to. She got left to her own devices, and no-one ever interfered with her plans. 

In the shadows underneath the kitchen cabinets, she could see Pyro and Jet's legs. She could hear their conversation perfectly – she may not have super-strength, or great destructive power, but all of her senses were heightened to be almost painfully acute. The perfect spy, that was what Magneto had said when they'd first met. Feather-light, she had to wear heavy boots and clothing so that the wind didn't literally sweep her off her feet – but she could scale walls in an instant, melt into shadows and listen and smell and see _everything_. It was a different sort of power, the power of stealth and knowledge. 

Of course, it wasn't the sort of power that people were very impressed by. Flames and fire, now that was impressive. The flame-thrower himself, however, wasn't. He wasn't even that tall, for crying out loud. Medium sort of build, scruffy hair, walked like he had an attitude problem waiting to happen – this was what she'd let herself get worked up over?

"It's hard _to_ like her," finished Jet, matter-of-factly. "How can you like someone who barely seems to exist?"

Yeah, Jet. Spin it out.

"I suppose that'd make her hard to talk to. But ideal roommate," Pyro said, leaning on the counter. His legs were getting fairly close to Shade, and insubstantial as she was, if he knocked against her, she'd be found out. "What's up with Nox? Is he always that hungry?"  
  
"Yes," Jet agreed, joining Pyro at the counter. Now she was dodging two sets of knees. "He can't eat with everyone else, you see, we're all too scared."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Everything about Nox is poisonous," Jet explained. "His hair, his skin, his blood, his saliva –"  
  
"So I guess he's not planning on sharing any of that, then," Pyro said. Shade heard his stomach grumble, and suddenly realised that she was hungry too. Should she crawl out into the daylight, introduce herself?

"We can go and get some more food from the dining room," Jet replied. Shade could see that she was already leading Pyro away, taking him further into the house. Nox scuttled after them, his overcoat pockets bulging. 

She stayed in the shadows beneath the kitchen cabinet until the sun went down, thinking and thinking and thinking. Shade liked her own company best.

**** 

It was dark outside, and it smelt so completely different. That was what struck him, the smell. All wrong, all different. All new.

Pyro sat down on the steps, the cold stone jutting into his back. He liked being uncomfortable, sometimes. It reminded him that he was alive. Sighing, he pushed his hair out of his face. It wasn't fair. It really, entirely wasn't fair.

Why did he always have to make such a mess of things? At the moment it felt like he was still trapped, just in a shiny new cage. Still, he'd give it a go. Magneto had the right idea, anyway – what had humans ever done for mutants? Why did they even deserve to live? He'd always been told at Xavier's how he was a 'natural evolution of the species' – wasn't it survival of the fittest? Maybe mutants and humans were never meant to co-exist – the time of the humans was over, and the time of the mutants had just begun.

He didn't feel like going to bed, not just yet. Sitting in the darkness, Pyro started to play with his lighter again. Old habits die hard and all that. And as the single, reassuring flame flickered unsteadily, he thought he saw the shadows beside him twist and reposition themselves, almost as though they were alive. 


	2. Smoking Kills

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A/N Thanks very much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter – don't worry, Shade and Pyro aren't getting together. In fact, no-one is getting together. This about growing up, not making out – although the two may sometimes overlap. Anyway, someone does have a crush on Pyro, but it isn't Shade, and in this chapter Pyro flexes his powers, and settles in a little more. 

****

Chapter 2 – Smoking Kills

"Don't you think Pyro's just adorable?"  
  
Shade pulled a face and rolled over in bed. It was Saturday tomorrow. She liked Saturdays, because Saturdays meant she could escape from Jet and Nox for the entire day, and concentrate on her own training, without stupid lessons getting in the way. Although Magneto didn't run a school, he wanted all of his younger recruits trained up, prepared. Shade agreed completely. What she didn't agree with was wasting all her time with Nox and Jet, learning how to _fight_.

If there was one thing in the world that she hated, it was combat.

"I mean, it's been so long since I've even seen another boy besides Nox, I forgot what it was like – he has the most gorgeous eyes. They're so big, and dark – and he's so _funny_. He doesn't care what anyone thinks –"  
  
She was so light that none of her hand-to-hand stuff ever worked, and when it came to weapons she was even more hopeless. If she tried to hit out with a staff or a pole she was simply pulled over by the sheer force of her actions. The only weapon she'd stand a chance with would be a gun, and they weren't allowed to use them yet. Which, in Shade's eyes, was ridiculous.

"And I think he likes me. I mean, he was talking to me for hours yesterday, and he looked straight at me – it was almost unbearable!"  
  
"Why?" Shade asked grumpily, getting up and slouching into the small bathroom. She knew Jet wouldn't stop until she got some sort of response. Looking into the mirror was nothing short of depressing. Jet seemed to wake-up picture perfect, perky and wholesome. It was sickening.

Abnormal teenager she might be, but Shade was still a teenager, and her appearance was the bane of her existence. Dark brown hair – straight, nonetheless – and chalk white skin was bad enough, but her eyes just topped it off. They were like twin black holes, no white or iris or pupil. That was one reason she didn't like talking to people, because no-one ever quite met her gaze. Except for Magneto, and Mystique. They always looked straight at her. Why Jet should find anyone looking straight at her _unbearable_ was beyond Shade's understanding. 

"Because it was really embarrassing, because I totally lost the thread of the conversation, and he _knew_, and then I think I might have started blushing and now he probably thinks I _like _him-"  
  
"But you do, don't you?" mumbled Shade, furiously brushing her teeth. At least they weren't all pointy, like Nox's. 

"He can't _realise_ that, though, Shade, that's the whole idea! Don't you know _anything_?"  
  
Shade spat out her toothpaste into the sink as violently as she could. "No."

"Don't you ever feel like this about boys? Shade?"

She'd had enough. Pulling her hair into a scraped back ponytail, Shade glared at Jet as she grabbed her clothes from an untidy pile by the door and started to get dressed.

"What boys? Nox and Pyro? Please. We don't have time for that, anyway. Magneto says –"  
  
"Oh, _Magneto_ says – if I didn't know better I'd think you liked _him_-"  
  
"Don't be sick."  
  
Jet smirked and gave her thick, blonde locks another going over with her hair brush. It was predictable, really. Typical that Jet, who could manipulate water, would get together with Pyro, who could manipulate fire. She wondered what their children would be like – the humanoid equivalent of vegetable steamers, she supposed.

"I'm going downstairs for breakfast now," added Jet, rather pointlessly. Shade tried to smooth a few wrinkles out of her customary black jeans then gave up. She wasn't planning on being seen, anyway. 

Un-focusing herself was becoming easier and easier. If she was the sort of person to worry, she'd worry that one day she'd wake up a part of the shadow-land, and she'd like it so much, she wouldn't ever come back into focus again.

****

"Friday morning we have combat, man, it's out there. Out there, we just do all this fighting. Sabretooth is brutal, man, just brutal."  
  
"Sabretooth?" Pyro asked, halfway through a slice of toast.

  
"He's like an _animal_, man, a real beast," said Nox, who wasn't eating at all. Pyro felt sorry for Nox, the same way he felt sorry for Rogue. It must be a curse, never to be able to really touch anyone. Not that he, Pyro, was any great voice of experience, but he'd had a couple of casual girlfriends, and he knew how nice it was to kiss and cuddle and sometimes just brush up against someone – it was important. And it must be hell for Bobby and Rogue, the way they were so serious about each other – stop it. He had to stop thinking about them, or he'd never settle in. 

"I'm sure he's nothing you can't handle, Pyro," came a different voice. Pyro turned around, and smiled at Jet. At the end of the day, pretty girls were pretty girls, whether they came with mutated super powers or not. And he much preferred the kind with mutated super powers.

"Wouldn't so sure, Jet, man, wouldn't be sure," said Nox, wriggling around in his chair. "Sabretooth's heavy. He lays Shade out for six every time, man, every time. And he always gets me and you in the end, he always does. The day I get him, man, that's the day I think, yeah, I'm ready."

"Anyone can 'lay Shade out' as you so delicately put it, she weighs all of about _nothing_," said Jet scathingly, sitting on the other side of Pyro and buttering her own slice of toast. "Besides, _I've_ been practising. I never practise," she said to Pyro, in a confidential tone. "And Magneto still thinks I'm very strong for my age. Stronger than Nox _or_ Shade."  
  
"Um – well done?" said Pyro, not really sure how to respond. 

"Thankyou!" said Jet brightly, then made an exasperated noise. "Shade, will you _please_ just be _normal_ and sit like any other person at the table. You know what Mrs Althrop said-"  
  
"I know, I know already," said an unfamiliar voice, from somewhere in the vicinity of their legs. As Pyro watched, a piece of shadow detached itself from underneath the table and flowed into a chair opposite. It was weird, like yesterday – the girl slowly came into focus, then it was like she'd been there all along, with those strange, blank eyes.

She started to drink a glass of water, insolently. Pyro had never seen anyone drink insolently before. It was fascinating. 

"Hi. I'm Shade. My other name is Charlene Small, but I prefer Shade, for obvious reasons. I was adopted by the Brotherhood when I was eight," she said flatly, looking down at the table. Pyro assumed this little speech was directed at him.

"Ignore her. She's always like this," hissed Jet.

"Hi, I'm Pyro, real name John Allerdyce, but I prefer Pyro because John makes me sound like a preacher's son – I used to study and live at Xavier's School, with the X-Men, but now I don't. For obvious reasons," he replied, ignoring Jet. 

For a minute he thought she might look up, but she just kept on sitting there, staring down at the plain wooden table. Jet jabbed angrily at her toast with the butter knife. That was the problem with pretty girls – they always had to be right.

  
"How about you?" he asked, giving her a full on charming grin. "Got a terrible name you don't want to share?"  
  
She looked back at him, then her lips curved upwards flirtatiously. "Angelina Jenkins. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Jet grabbed his hand and shook it firmly. He nodded back at her.

  
"_Angel_-ina. That definitely suits." Nice job, John. Really, abysmally corny. "How about you, Nox?"

"I don't know, man, I guess it might have been Brian, once, maybe, but I just don't know. Maybe I've had too much of the good stuff too many times, you hear me man? Maybe, maybe." Nox paused for a second, seemingly lost in reverie – perhaps reliving the 'good stuff' – when he suddenly turned to Shade. "Hey, Shade, ready to get kicked around, man? Unless you got yourself any armour, yeah, armour, that'd sort you out."  
  
"Kill it, Nox. I can take care of myself," muttered Shade. Pyro noticed that she seemed to fade a little, flicker a little. It was uncomfortable to look at her for too long.

"Ha ha, yeah, man, like hell you can. How about last week for a story-"  
  
"I said _kill it_, Nox."  
  
Pyro finished his slice of toast and leaned back in his chair. Talk about atmosphere. They hadn't even finished eating breakfast yet, and a palpable air of tension had settled on the little group.

  
"Kill it, man, what're _you_ going to do, what? Follow me around? Annoy me to death, man? Because you can't do much else, ha ha!" 

Shade sighed, and did her funny disappearing trick again. Nox collapsed into sickly sounding laughter. It sounded like he was hacking up great globs of phlegm, and Pyro noticed Jet discreetly moving her bowl of cereal away from him. 

"That's Shade's answer to everything, man, run away! Where's that gonna get us, if those hoo-mans attack here, that's what I want to know, where's that gonna get _us_!"  
  
"Control yourself," Jet said, obviously irritated. 

"Huh, _control_, man, where did that ever get anyone? It's all about losing control, Jet, you should know that by now, you should _know_ it. I'm going down to the training block, man, catch you later."

He stood up, produced a rather squashed looking cheese sandwich from a deep coat pocket, and walked off jerkily.

"Now do you see what I've had to put up with?" 

Pyro turned back to look at Jet, who was leaning into him in a pleasing sort of way. She rolled her eyes expressively. "A drugged-up, unstable psycho and an anti-social, workaholic loser," she practically purred, laying a hand on Pyro's arm. "Thank _goodness_ you turned up when you did."  
  
He couldn't help thinking that maybe she was being a little bit unfair – so Shade was anti-social, and Nox was fairly unstable – okay. Maybe not unfair. And she _was _a very pretty girl.

"Thank goodness for _you_," he said firmly, taking her hand in his for a moment, hearing her inhale slightly sharply. "Thank goodness you're here, Jet. You've really made me feel at home." He paused meaningfully waiting for inspiration to strike. It struck. "I guess I just feel like I've known you forever. Like I was _drawn_ to you, somehow – you know what I mean?" 

Wistful smile, tilt of the head, eyes linger on her face for just a little too long – he hadn't lost his touch. Ten points to Allerdyce – whoever said bad guys had all the fun was 100% right.

****

Shade saw Nox enter the training room and start to limber up. What was the point? No-one really dared touch him anyway, not even Sabretooth. The most hand-to-hand Nox ever got was with the long staffs, and even then Sabretooth seemed more concerned with getting away from him than fighting back.

She was in a dark corner by the ceiling – the metal bunkers weren't good places for shadows, and so she'd taken her boots off and scooted up to the ceiling. She could hear Pyro – John Allerdyce – approaching, talking to Jet. They'd all be here soon, and then the lesson would start. 

Ouch.

So, he was called John Allerdyce? Allerdyce was unusual, pretty unusual – that was the place to start, she'd decided. With his family. If something happened to them, maybe he'd have to go back home, maybe he'd start thinking humans weren't all bad – whatever, there had to be some dirt she could use against him. 

She'd thought the whole 'I'm adopted' spiel at the table would make him open up about his own past, but evidently she'd thought wrong.

How annoying. She never thought wrong.

Jet and Pyro chose that exact moment to enter the bunker, and were greeted by an irate Sabretooth. That wiped the smiles off their immature faces, Shade thought smugly, sliding down from the ceiling and grabbing her boots.

"You're all late!" barked Sabretooth, towering over the teenagers. Shade walked over to join them. No-one even looked in her direction, or heard her approach. Sometimes that bothered her, the way they all ignored her, but she supposed that in one way it was a form of compliment. She was getting so good at being quiet, no-one could tell where she was. 

"We weren't late," she said calmly, indicating herself and Nox. "It's just those two."  
  
"Thanks, Shade," hissed Jet, not even bothering to look over her shoulder.

"That's what I _meant_," said Sabretooth, seeming a little confused. He took a few deep breaths, then smiled. _Smiled_?

"I've been taking anger management classes," he rumbled. "They've been very helpful. Helpful for the body, the mind, and-" A serene expression settled over his face. "And the spirit."  
  
"Is he teaching us kung fu or feng shui?" Pyro said quietly. 

Shade smiled, then remembered just how mad Sabretooth got when he thought anyone was making fun of him. And just how easily she bruised.

"We're working on hand-to-hand today-"  
  
Nox groaned loudly, and started muttering insane little nothings to himself. Sometimes Shade liked Nox – maybe like was too strong a word. He had too 

  
"So if you all line up – wait a minute. You're new," he said, staring hard at Pyro.

"Brand spanking," replied Pyro.

"What do you do?" 

"Mostly fire."  
  
"Fire what? Guns?"  
  
"No, just – fire."  
  
Sabretooth frowned, and straightened up. "Show me," he demanded. The younger mutant took a step back and produced an old fashioned style gas lighter from his left pocket. He opened it with an expert flick of the wrist, and Sabretooth snorted scornfully. "Anyone can do that."  
  
"I haven't finished yet," Pyro muttered, and he seemed to draw the flame from the lighter until it was cupped in his hand, hovering just above the skin. Then, almost lazily, he threw the flame at Sabretooth. 

*****

He didn't mean to lose control of it like that. He'd meant for the fireball to zip harmlessly past the big guy's head and then he'd extinguish it by snapping his fingers (he didn't actually need to snap his fingers, but it looked cool) and that would've been that. Unfortunately, sometimes the fire didn't want to listen.

So it grew into a huge flaming mess, ignited with a terrifying _whomph_ and was currently hurtling towards Sabretooth, Shade and Nox. 

"Get down!" he yelled, concentrating his entire mind on extinguishing the flame. 

It was strange – the way he felt when he lost control. It was like he became a part of the flame, almost like he was suffocating and inhaling all at once. It was an empty, floating hunger – and behind it was the shiver and thrill of power. When he tried to put the flames out, he felt heavy. Like he was drowning.

It hurt.

*****

"Get down!"  
  
Shade was frozen. If Nox hadn't grabbed her arm, she would probably have died. As it was, she fell to the floor, her mouth open wide in pain. Nox was, well, noxious and toxic – he'd burnt her arm with his touch. It was an acid burn, and it _hurt_. 

She felt the oppressive heat of the flames over her head, heard the roar of the fire. It blinded her through closed eyelids, and her entire world was wrapped in pain and noise and heat – then it was gone. Shade inhaled deeply, then coughed violently. There was smoke everywhere.  
  
Someone hauled her to her feet.

  
"I'm sorry-"  
  
It was that _boy_.

"I'm fine!" she snapped, pushing him away. She winced, and Sabretooth growled at Pyro. Despite the burn, and smoke stinging her eyes, she had to suppress a smile. All of Sabretooth's fur was singed, and a large patch was missing from his head. 

"You are not fine," he muttered, grabbing her bad arm. "None of us are fine – you!" he barked, pointing at Pyro. "You will go to see Magneto. And Shade, you go and find the Sisters."  
  
"Hey, man," Nox said quietly. "I didn't mean to-"  
  
"I know, Nox," Shade replied, not unkindly. After all, he'd saved her life. "I'll be okay. The Sisters can sort it out."  
  
The training room was a mess. Thick black smoke hung in a pall overhead, there were sooty marks everywhere and the fireball had burnt through part of the back wall. She didn't envy Pyro his meeting with Magneto.

****

Pyro stood in the – well, he supposed it was a study – and squirmed uncomfortably. This set-up reminded him of all those times he'd had to 'go and see' Professor X. The door opened behind him, but he stayed facing forward.

"Pyro. Sit down – you aren't in the army."  
  
Magneto didn't sound too angry, which he guessed was a good sign. Pyro sat down in one of the old leather chairs, near the desk, and tried to relax. He could feel his lighter against his leg, and sighed heavily. 

"I understand there was an - incident, shall we say - in combative training this morning?"  
  
Magneto sat down opposite him, and Pyro met his gaze steadily. It was hard, though. The old guy had eyes like knives. 

  
"Yeah, you could say that. I sort of blew Sabretooth's head off. I didn't mean to. And maybe that was a slight exaggeration – he's still got his head. He's just missing some fluff."

"I see." Magneto templed his fingers, and narrowed his eyes. "Shade was also damaged. This is unacceptable – two mutants damaged. You aren't still working for Xavier, by any chance?"  
  
"No!" Pyro said vehemently. 

Magneto gave him a considering look, then stood up. "You are young. And very powerful –"  
  
"But I have to control that power," Pyro finished, sounding bored. He was bored – control took away from the fire, dampened everything.

"Not exactly. You have to let go," Magneto said, softly. "But you can only let go at the appropriate time. Without losing yourself in that power, you will never achieve your full potential. That is why I'm not angry at you, Pyro, nor am I going to discipline you. You showed great ability today."

That was different. Pyro stood up, feeling better already. So there was a time and a place for everything – and today hadn't been the time. But his time would come, he'd make sure of it.

"Thanks, I guess." 

The older man smiled suddenly, then turned his back on Pyro to look out of the window again.

  
"We shall speak again soon. You can count on it."

*****

Shade rubbed her arm reflectively. It felt much better now. She was sitting on the steps again – no-one else came to sit on these steps.

"So, you're invisible?"

It was Allerdyce. She frowned. He was so loud and – and _visible_. Even the way he walked as full of arrogance and swagger – every movement seemed to shout look at me, whereas she did her best to fade away.

"What do you want?" she asked irritably, as he sat down next to her.

"To apologise," he said, leaning back against the steps. "And we haven't really spoken yet-"  
  
"I don't really speak to anyone," she said primly. "Especially not people who try to kill me."  
  
"Hey, don't take it personally. I was really aiming more at Sabretooth."

She sniffed disapprovingly. 

"So, _are_ you invisible? Can you just, like, turn it on and off?"

She'd just answer his stupid questions and maybe he'd go away and leave her in peace.

  
"No. I'm just like a shadow, hence the name - I'm still there, in the background. People can feel me, I can bump into them – it isn't perfect." 

"Oh."  
  
And he still didn't go away. These were her steps – she certainly wasn't going to leave. She found her cigarettes, and got one out. If she couldn't make him feel uncomfortable with silence, she'd give him a coughing fit. It was only fair.

"Hate to be cliched, but have you got a light?"  
  
"Always," he replied, producing the lighter he'd used earlier. "You shouldn't smoke, you know. I've heard it's bad for your lungs."  
  
"I always wanted to die young," Shade said flippantly, inhaling deeply, feeling a little better.

"And you hate to be cliched?"

"That's really how I feel. I guess being in the dark all the time cultivates a certain personality type."  
  
"I guess playing with fire all the time does the same thing."  
  
"So, you think you're living life on the wild side."  
  
"They say youth is wasted on the young. I don't want to waste it," he replied lazily, closing his eyes against the dying rays of sun. 

Shade knew she was being drawn into conversation, but it couldn't hurt – it was easier to destroy someone from the inside out. And after today's display of fire power, she knew she had to get rid of him. Magneto hadn't even disciplined him! "You don't classify this as a waste of time? Living in the back-end of nowhere, trying to start a war, preparing to kill people - it isn't exactly the conventional idea of fun."

"This is what I always wanted – to fight back, to get even. This is the only thing that matters - well, this, and rock music." 

"Rock music."  
  
"Yeah, rock 'n' roll, baby. You don't like music?"  
  
"I don't have time to listen to it." Neither should you, she added silently. You should be committed to the cause! Like I am! I've given everything to it, and no-one even cares.  
  
"Maybe you should make time. I could lend you some of my records –"  
  
He paused, and Shade took a final drag on her cigarette before stubbing it out. "You left them all behind?" she ventured.  
  
"Shit. Yeah. I forgot."  
  
"You can buy more."  
  
"No, no way. Some of those vinyls were rare – original Clash, Sex Pistols, the Velvet Underground – I'll have to get them back. That's if they haven't thrown them all out already," he added, bitterly.  
  
"What's it like there?" She'd always been curious.  
  
"Like, I don't know, stifling. They don't listen. And it was all about control. Don't lose it, don't let go – never about really _using_ power. Xavier's too soft – he doesn't see that we'll never be accepted for who we are." 

"Unexpected depth from the firestarter."  
  
"Expected sarcasm from the fade-in lady."  
  
"Expected?" she repeated, a little put-out.  
  
"Yeah. You dress in black, you become one with the shadows, you're a loner, border-line suicidal, you smoke – I think everything you say can be described with either 'she said darkly' or 'she said sarcastically'."

"Surely not everything?"  
  
"Okay, that was more of a 'she asked pathetically'," he grinned, sitting up straight.  
  
"Jet might find you hysterically funny – I don't," Shade said, frowning and standing up. Enough was enough. She didn't want to leave the steps, but other people were so draining. Especially this one.   
  
"So glad we had this conversation."  
  
"Really, it wasn't a conversation. I prefer to think of it as an exchange."  
  
"Likewise."

"Oh, God – you're one of those people who just has to have the last word, aren't you?"  
  
"Whatever gave you that impression?"  
  
"I could just tell."  
  
"So now you're psychic as well as invisible?"  
  
"No – anyone can see you're arrogant."  
  
"And you, on the other hand, don't have _any_ hang-ups about last words."  
  
"No."  
  
"Ah."  
  
"I don't!"  
  
"I see."  
  
"This is so immature."  
  
"So let's leave it."  
  
"Fine."  
  
"Fine."  
  
"Fine."  
  
"Doesn't fine sound like a nonsense word now?"  
  
"I'm not being drawn back into this. I'm going."  
  
She went.


End file.
